Berry-Silverman v. Silverman

── Berry-Silverman v. Silverman ── Court: Ohio Court of Appeals Date: May 15, 2026 Author: Baldwin Category: General [Cite as Berry-Silverman v. Silverman, 2026-Ohio-1802.] IN THE OHIO COURT OF APPEALS FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT DELAWARE COUNTY, OHIO MELISSA BERRY-SILVERMAN, Case No. 25 CAF 10 0094 Plaintiff - Appellant Opinion And Judgment Entry -vs- Appeal from the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division, ANDREW SILVERMAN, Case No. 20 DR B 07 0346 Defendant - Appellee Judgment: Affirmed Date of Judgment Entry: May 15, 2026 BEFORE: Andrew J. King; Craig R. Baldwin; Robert G. Montgomery, Judges APPEARANCES: CHRISTOPHER L. TROLINGER, for Plaintiff-Appellant; JOHN H. COUSINS, IV, for Defendant-Appellee. Baldwin, J. {¶1} The appellant, Melissa Berry-Silverman, appeals the trial court’s decision overruling her objections to the magistrate’s decision denying her motion for contempt. The appellee is Andrew Silverman. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the trial court’s decision. STATEMENT OF FACTS AND THE CASE {¶2} The appellant and the appellee were married on April 20, 2013. They had no children. On July 2, 2020, the appellant filed a Complaint for Divorce. On August 24, 2021, the matter proceeded to a trial before a magistrate. On September 28, 2021, the magistrate issued findings of facts and conclusions of law. The appellant filed objections to the magistrate’s decision, which the trial court overruled in a November 23, 2021, Judgment Entry/Objections to Magistrate’s Decision/Decree of Divorce. {¶3} The Decree of Divorce provided, inter alia, the following: • Real Property, Tangible Personal Property and associated liabilities The real property located at 5887 Highland Hills Drive, Westerville, Ohio shall be listed for sale within 30 days of the date of this Entry. The property shall be listed with Nicole Yoder Barnhard, at a price recommended by the Realtor, and shall remain listed until sold. Both Parties shall cooperate with the Realtor, keep the home in a saleable condition, and shall not unreasonably reject any offer. At the time of sale, the proceeds shall be equally divided by the parties after payment of all taxes, insurance, mortgages, tax liens, Realtor fees, other costs of sale, and $110,897.21 to Plaintiff as and for her separate property interest in the home. The parties shall direct that all proceeds shall be paid to the trust account of Attorney Grossman at the time of closing. Attorney Grossman shall then disburse Wife’s portion of the proceeds to Attorney Sathappan. Until the time of sale, Husband shall pay the mortgage, taxes, and insurance for the home and Wife shall pay the utilities and daily upkeep expenses. The cost of any major, necessary repair expenses shall be divided equally by the parties. * * * • Retirement Husband shall have as his property, free and clear of all claims of Wife, Ameriprise IRA #3659 and Ameriprise ROTH IRA #7734.  Wife shall transfer and Husband shall receive $5,245 from Ameriprise IRA #0523 as of May 31, 2021. Said transfer shall be via Trustee to Trustee transfer, if possible, or Domestic Relations Order (DRO) if necessary. The amount transferred to Husband shall be transferred pro rata, in-kind among all of the holdings within the Plan and shall be adjusted to include all interest, dividends, investment gains and losses from May 31, 2021 to the date of transfer or closest valuation date thereto. Husband shall be entitled to rights of survivorship as to his portion of the IRA until his portion is transferred in full. Wife